Noticeboard

Need Urgent Dental Care?

If you need help with an urgent dental problem, call our helpline, available from 9am to 9:30pm everyday, including weekends and Bank Holidays.

0161 476 9651 (Local Rate)

Local dental providers offer NHS urgent dental clinics across Cheshire and Merseyside, with urgent appointments for patients who need urgent treatment, advice and support on dental queries or referral to other services.

The service is provided according to strict clinical criteri

a and when you call you'll be assessed by a member of our clinical team to make sure your problem come under either:

Trauma - this is usually caused by a blow to the face, a lost filling is not classed as a trauma.

Swelling of the face

Bleeding, uncontrolled, such as after an extraction

Pain that can't be controlled by pain relief medicines.

If you're given an appointment and your problem doesn't fit of the above, you'll still have to pay the NHS fee but may receive advice and not treatment.

Clinic times vary.and at busy times or when your local clinic's not available you may be offered an appointment at an alternative location.

Please not: this is an appointment only service - we do not operate a "drop in" service at any of our surgeries

Latest News

On Tuesday 27 March 2018 Dr Holden will be hosting a retirement coffee morning for patients. This will be an opportunity for patients to come and say goodbye to the founder partner of Garswood Surgery before he retires fron General Practice on 31 March 2018.

We will be holding a bake sale and the proceeds will be donated to Intercare, the charity which sends medical aid and the small knitted items donated by the Ashton knitting Circle to Africa.

Great opportunity to make new friends

Available each weekday, Positive Living Community Day Centres are suitable for older people (generally 55+) who need minimal support but want to enjoy later life. Click here to learn more

Healthwatch (St Helens) Patient Friendly Practice Award 2017/19

Healthwatch (St Helens) is your local watchdog around health & social care services, designed to collect your experiences and represent your views. They make sure that the views of the people who use services in St Helens are taken into account by service providers and people who design services for the future.

We are pleased to advise that following an inspection by Healthwatch, Garswood Surgery has been awarded the Patient Friendly Practice Award 2017 / 2019 (http://www.healthwatchsthelens.co.uk/patient-friendly-practice-award) , an initiative designed by patients, not professionals. The criteria practices must meet came from a consultation event attended by Healthwatch members, people from local communities, colleagues from St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group and partners from local 3rd sector organisations. Click on the above link to read the Healthwatch report

National GP Survey 2017 – The best and worst GP Surgeries in St Helens ranked by patients

The St Helens Star has published the best and worst GP Surgeries in St Helens ranked by patients.

Please note, Dr John Holden will be retiring from General Practice on 31stMarch 2018.

During the next few weeks we will be reallocating patients who are currently registered to Dr Holden to one of the remaining GP partners.

If we have a mobile number and consent to text messages you will receive a text message to advise you which Partner will replace Dr Holden as your named GP. Where we don’t currently have consent to text or hold a mobile telephone number you will be advised opportunistically when you visit the surgery for a consultation with a GP or the Practice Nurse

·Please remember, you can still talk to and have appointments with any of our clinicians, not just your Named GP and we recommend you read the frequently asked questions below.

Why have I been allocated a named GP?

The government believes, as we do, that continuity of care adds value to consultations and people with long term medical problems benefit from seeing the doctor who knows them best. We have always promoted continuity of care, especially for patients with long term complex medical problems.

Will having a named GP mean I will always be given a same day appointment with that doctor?

No. Having a name GP ensures an individual clinician has overall responsibility for the care and support our practice provides to you but it does not imply that doctor’s personal availability or mean that you will have any reduction in the time you may have to wait for an appointment.

Will the quality of my care be affected if I don’t see my named GP?

No. The clinicians make comprehensive notes in your medical record about every consultation they have with you. If you need to see a different doctor your full medical records will always be readily available including any correspondence, test results and medication issues so, in reality, there is sufficient information available in your records to ensure that any of our clinicians can care for you appropriately without any compromise in the standard of care provided.

Do I need to take any action?

You do not need to take any further action, but if you have any questions or wish to specify a GP partner as your named GP please note that our telephone lines are very busy and we cannot discuss this over the phone. Just let us know next time you visit the practice or email us at Garswood.surgery1@nhs.net.

Looking to stop smoking?

Smokefree St Helens is pleased to provide a new drop-in session offering St Helens residents/workers support to help them to quit or reduce their smoking. Open 6 days per week Monday – Friday 11 -1pm, and Saturday 10-12, these new sessions are based in Unit 12, St Mary’s Indoor Market which can be located by entering the market near to B&M’s. A private area has been sectioned off within the stall to ensure confidentiality.

The NHS Summary Care Record

Every household in England is receiving the leaflet ‘Better Information means better care leaflet’ during January. The leaflet helps to support us in raising awareness amongst patients about how their information is used for purposes beyond their direct care, including for the care.data programme. We thought you might find it helpful if we provided an update on progress, and reminded you about a number of resources that are available to support GP practices and patients. CLICK HERE to read more

For further information on Care.Data and Summary Care Records, including how to opt out, see the Further Information menu on the right.

Quality Improvement in NHS Services

In recognition of the challenging financial situation that the NHS is facing, the Government has implemented a series of sweeping changes throughout the NHS with a view to making the service more efficient and cost effective.

Changes to the way you order your repeat medicines

In St Helens at least £1.5 million worth of medicines each year are returned to chemists unused. These medicines cannot be re-used and are destroyed. In an effort to reduce waste St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group have decided to stop pharmacies, and other 3rd party suppliers from ordering medication for patients.

How can I order my medication?The easiest way to order your repeat medicines in to sign up for Patient Access which provides secure access to the practice clinical system using a PC, tablet or smart phone. Patient Access allows you to not only order your repeat medicines but you can also book and cancel appointments, access your test results and view your medical record. It’s very simple to sign up - just enquire at reception with a form of ID (eg., driving licence, passport, etc.,) and proof of address (eg., utility bill, council tax notice, etc.,) and we will do the rest.

Alternatively, you can order your repeat medicines by dropping off your monthly prescription request into one of our two posting boxes (NB., if you are ordering this way please use the right hand side of your prescription order form to order your medicines – this reduces the chance of error and gives you the opportunity to cross of any medicines you don’t need that month)

Could I be signed up for Repeat Dispensing?Your GP may be able to put your medication onto a system known as Repeat Dispensing – this means a special prescription is sent to your nominated chemist which allows the chemist to dispense your medication for up to a year without you needing to order it. Ask about this next time you visit the doctor (please note, not everyone is a suitable candidate for repeat dispensing)

What if I don’t need all of the items on my prescription this month?Sometimes, you may not use all of the medicine(s) you have been prescribed– this can often be the case with some creams or certain medicines such as laxatives which you only need to take as and when required. To avoid a wait at the pharmacy, if you let them know when you intend collecting you medicines they can usually prepare your medicines ready for collection – at the same time if tell them about medication you don’t need they will make the necessary adjustment(s) to the items they dispense.

Please ONLY order the medication you need. Do not stockpile your medicines at home – many medications have very short shelf lives and are not as effective as they should be if they have gone past their expiry date. If there are medicines on your repeat prescription that you no longer take please inform you doctor, practice nurse or chemist. Thank you.

Efficient and Effective Prescribing You may find some of your regular medication is switched to a different product which will have exactly the same effect but will cost the NHS less. We will give you information about any changes. If you have any concerns please discuss with your GP, Practice Nurse or Pharmacist.

NEW online mental health resource

A new online mental health resource for people in Halton & St Helens was launched on World Mental Health Day (Wednesday 10th October 2012).

http://www.live-life-well.net has been specifically designed to help manage a person's own mental health and wellbeing. Designed by the Health Improvement Team in Halton & St Helens, this interactive website offers information on lifestyle and mental health, including:

useful local contacts

a self help section for depression, anxiety and sleep

information on medication

a useful resources section with lots of downloads

information on suicide prevention

According to the Office for National Statistics Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity, 1 in 4 adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year with the most common being mixed anxiety and depression. This is echoed across Halton and St Helens as this is the most common reason for referral to mental health services throughout the boroughs.

Practice E-Mail Service

Although we can pass on a non-urgent message to a doctor please note we are unable to book appointments, deal with general clinical queries or repeat prescribing requests via the practice e-mail service. You can, however, use it to tell us about changes to your changes to your contact details such as a new mobile phone number or a change of address, etc. You can also use it to tell us if you need to cancel an appointment (please give as much notice as possible so that we can reallocate the appointment to another patient).

When e-mailing please ensure you provide us with your name and date of birth to help us identify you.

Contraceptive Implant

Dr Parr now offers the contraceptive implant (Implanon). The implant is a small flexible rod that is placed just under the skin of the upper arm. It releases a progestogen hormone similar to the natural progesterone that women produce in their ovaries and works for up to three years. Click here to find out more .